Lauren McDavid's clothing line officially crossed into Maple Leafs territory as it created brand new speculation about Connor McDavid's future In Edmonton.
On Wednesday, McDavid took to Instagram and posted on her story that she and her clothing brand Sports Club Atelier had some fresh threads to show off to prospective clients, and it absolutely set off a firestorm online.
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The story - split into multiple parts - shows a Toronto Maple Leafs fleece sweater in dark blue, white, and grey with a poll asking fans and clients which style they prefer.
Sports Club Atelier was always going beyond Edmonton - Toronto is simply its biggest expansion yet
But it does bring into light some brand new speculation especially since Lauren herself has been adamant that she and her husband Connor are life-long Edmontonians despite the rampant rumours. She even admitted 'The Oilers, obviously' when pressed about where her allegiance lies.
Expanding into other territory though is something that seems unavoidable especially since Sports Club Atelier is promising a collaboration with not only the Oilers, but Hockey Canada, and pursuable other NHL teams in the future. It's not just strictly Oilers apparel even though they do hold the majority of items.
Toronto though is a much bigger market in terms of overall scope, and frankly, the quality and appearance of the clothing looks top of the line and it's clear a lot of passion and dedication was made into creating the style. Maple Leafs fans love to wear their team in public, and giving them top quality clothing that both appeals to them physically and is comfortable to wear - it's a money maker waiting to happen.
The Maple Leafs drop will fuel McDavid talk, but the business explanation was already on record
This is the stuff you all were expecting though - another McDavid to Toronto breadcrumb. But here's where things stop before they begin. Lauren had already stated previously that this was not going to be Oilers-only, and that they were looking to expand to other teams and clients.
They already did so with Hockey Canada and announced they had secured a licence with the NHL for other teams to get apparel. So unless suddenly there's rumours about McDavid heading to half a dozen other places - it's just adding a prominent and iconic franchise into a clothing brand.
Does this also mean that McDavid is beholden to Edmonton for the rest of his career? Absolutely not, and while it's certainly nothing more than speculation...these rumours just won't go away regardless of how much we shake them off. His love for the team is also well-documented so...maybe there's no fire yet but a spark could appear.
But let's not get too ahead of ourselves, as Lauren and Connor are simply taking the most iconic and well known hockey franchise in the world and marketing a new line of apparel with their logo. There's nothing more to this than a business decision - at least that's the story for now.
Do you think Connor McDavid will ever become a Toronto Maple Leaf?
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